Newcastle United and Premier League clubs will be impacted by a FIFA rule change following the 2026 World Cup.
Newcastle United are set to be impacted by a FIFA rule change regarding international breaks for next season.
With the 48-team 2026 World Cup in North America running from June 11 to July 19 next summer, a restructure of next season’s international breaks has been confirmed.
Once Newcastle have played 11 Premier League games, this season will already be into its third international break.
The current international fixture calendar has matches in September, October and November, stifling the momentum of the early season at club level.
But that will change somewhat next season.
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FIFA approve international break change
From 2026, the September international break, the first after the 2026 World Cup, will be extended to three weeks.
In the three-week gap without domestic matches in September, nations will play up to four international matches instead of the usual two.
As a result of the extended international break, the October break will be removed as of 2026. The November international break will continue as a normal two-week break.
The switch to an extended September break was approved by FIFA in 2023 and is now set to come into action next year.
The change has been made amid travel and player welfare concerns, particularly for those who have to travel long-distances to represent their country such as African, South American or Asian Premier League players.
Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes joined up with the Brazil squad in September for two matches, playing at high altitude in Bolivia on Wednesday morning before leading his club out at St James’ Park three days later.
It was an issue discussed by Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe ahead of the 1-0 win over Wolves on Saturday.
"Yeah, definitely,” Howe said when asked if the nature of Guimaraes’ international duty was something the club would have to consider. “We've had discussions with Bruno and we'll continue to have discussions with Bruno to see how he feels.
“Any player that enters the pitch, we have to be confident and he has to be confident that he can deliver his best for the team. And I know Bruno will share that view with us.”
Newcastle United internationals
Newcastle can be hit quite hard during the international break due to the volume of international players in their squad.
The Magpies saw Dan Burn, Anthony Gordon and Tino Livramento go away with England while Lewis Hall will also be pushing to get back into the squad after returning from injury.
Key players such as Sandro Tonali (Italy), Anthony Elanga (Sweden) and Nick Woltemade (Germany) also went away with their respective countries last month.
Further afield, Howe’s side have Yoane Wissa representing DR Congo, something that has caused problems after he returned from international duty last week with a knee injury that will keep him out for several weeks.
There’s also Guimaraes and potentially Joelinton away with Brazil as well.
Discussing the recent break, Howe added: “We always enjoy training with the players, small group, sort of different numbers on different days, we've had roughly about eight to nine players, which is always a good challenge to keep them entertained and mentally stimulated for the two weeks.
“But I feel like those players that have stayed, some of them needed some work and we've got some good work into them and they're certainly in better physical condition.”
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